Portable phones are widely used for communicating and transmitting information between users. Portable phones include cordless phones which receive signals from a base station controlled by a user over a relatively short range, typically on a frequency of 900 MHz, 2.4 Ghz or 5.8 GHz. Portable phones also include cellular phones for a greater range, which typically receive signals from a telecommunications network using various platforms, such as ANALOG, CDMA, TDMA and GSM. Portable phones also include satellite phones, where the portable phone is in direct transmission to and from a communications satellite orbiting the earth, such as the “GLOBAL STAR” system and the “IRIDIUM” system.
Some portable phones employ a handset configured for holding in one hand and placement against the user's head. A conventional handset for a portable phone includes a speaker configured for placement proximate to the ear, and a microphone configured for placement proximate to the mouth.
The handset can also include a face having a key pad, and a direct view display configured to display a visual image of data in an alphanumeric or video format. Some types of data that can be visually displayed on the direct view display are “caller waiting ID” data. Moreover, the data can be displayed, even when the user is conducting a two way conversation with the handset held against the head. For example, during a two way conversation, the data can include the originating phone number of an incoming call.
One limitation of a conventional handset is that the direct view display cannot be seen by the user with the handset held against the head. During a two way conversation, in order to view the data, the user must hold the handset away from the ear, and place the direct view display at least several inches in front of the eyes. This requires interrupting a two way conversation to read data from a third party during the conversation, such as caller waiting ID data. Although this problem can be avoided by speaker phones, this approach has limitations, in that confidentiality and sound fidelity are reduced, and the transmission of environmental noises is increased.
The present invention is directed to a portable phone having a data projection system configured to generate and project a visual image of data onto a viewing surface which is in close proximity to the user, and easily viewable by the user. This permits the visual image to be ergonomically viewed by the user even with the handset held against the head. Two way phone conversations can thus be carried out without interruption, and without the limitations of speaker phones.